Compare Bing Maps vs Google Maps scenery in MSFS 2020. Learn which gives better imagery, photogrammetry, stability and low-level VFR detail.
In Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020, Bing Maps is the better default scenery system because it is officially integrated with terrain, autogen, photogrammetry and World Updates. Google Maps replacement tools can provide sharper or newer aerial imagery in particular locations, but quality varies and they can introduce colour, loading, alignment and reliability problems.
The deciding factor is location. Google imagery may clearly beat Bing around one town yet be older, cloudier or less consistent in the next region. For worldwide flying, Bing remains our practical recommendation; Google-based scenery is best treated as a targeted PC modification.
Bing Maps versus Google Maps scenery at a glance
| Factor | Default Bing scenery | Google-based replacement |
|---|---|---|
| Aerial imagery | Quality and age vary by location, but the imagery is prepared for MSFS 2020. | Can be sharper or newer locally, but is not universally better. |
| 3D scenery | Integrates with procedural buildings, trees, landmarks and supported photogrammetry cities. | A map tile replacement normally changes only the ground image, not the 3D buildings. |
| Visual consistency | Generally offers better blending across large areas. | May show colour seams, seasonal changes, baked shadows or mismatched tiles. |
| Reliability | Built into the simulator and supported by its normal streaming and cache systems. | Depends on an unofficial tool, its cache and continued access to the chosen imagery source. |
| Platforms | Available on PC and Xbox as part of MSFS 2020. | Normally limited to PC because Xbox does not support this class of external replacement tool. |
| Best use | General flying, photogrammetry cities and a dependable worldwide baseline. | Low-level VFR in a specific area where a comparison proves Google imagery is better. |
Which scenery actually looks better?
Google can look better in a specific district, while Bing usually produces the more coherent world overall. The source with newer photography, higher resolution and fewer clouds or shadows will normally win at low altitude.
Neither provider has one uniform global dataset. Both combine photography captured on different dates, in different seasons and at different resolutions. A sharp Google image of your home town does not prove that its coverage will be better along an entire route.
Altitude matters too. Differences in road markings, field boundaries and individual buildings are obvious during low-level VFR flight. From normal airliner cruising levels, terrain mesh, cloud rendering, lighting and overall colour consistency matter more than small differences between aerial photographs.
Does Google Maps replace Bing photogrammetry?
A standard Google Maps tile replacement changes the ground imagery but does not automatically supply Google 3D buildings. MSFS 2020 still uses its own elevation data, procedural vegetation, autogen and any photogrammetry left enabled.
This distinction explains many misleading comparisons. Photogrammetry is a three-dimensional city mesh; aerial imagery is the photograph draped over the ground. Our guide to how Bing imagery, autogen and photogrammetry work together explains the scenery layers in more detail.
Mixing Google ground tiles with Bing-derived photogrammetry can produce misaligned roads, footprints and colours because the layers may come from different capture dates. Imported Google 3D city packages are a separate type of add-on and may bring rough boundaries, floating objects and much heavier storage or performance demands.
Changing the imagery source also does not replace navigation data, cockpit maps, weather or the simulator's flight-planning database.
Why can Google Maps scenery look worse?
Google-based scenery looks worse when its ground tiles do not match the simulator layers placed above them. Common symptoms include:
- Offset buildings and trees: the autogen placement was generated against different imagery.
- Colour blocks and visible seams: neighbouring photographs were taken in different seasons or lighting conditions.
- Blank or late-loading tiles: the external tool, network route, cache or imagery service has failed to deliver a tile.
- Baked aircraft and shadows: these are part of the source photograph and cannot respond to the simulator's time of day.
- Mismatched photogrammetry: Bing-based 3D structures may not line up cleanly with Google ground photography.
A melted skyline is usually a photogrammetry streaming or level-of-detail problem, not proof that Bing aerial imagery is inferior. Repetitive rural buildings are likewise an autogen limitation rather than a direct comparison between the map providers.
How should you compare Bing and Google fairly?
- Restore the Bing baseline. Temporarily remove replacement scenery and confirm that Online Functionality, Bing Data World Graphics and the desired photogrammetry setting are enabled under the simulator's data options. If the world remains generic or blurry, use our Bing scenery streaming fault checklist before judging image quality.
- Match the scenery settings. Use the same terrain and object detail levels, photogrammetry state, weather, time and camera position for both tests.
- Install relevant official content. Regional packages can improve landmarks, airports and selected city coverage, although they do not replace every aerial tile. Check what MSFS 2020 World Updates add before comparing an incomplete installation.
- Control the caches. Restart after changing sources and clear or bypass stale scenery caches when persistent old tiles appear. Clearing every cache before every flight is unnecessary and increases downloading.
- Test several locations. Compare a photogrammetry city, a rural area and an airport at low altitude. One familiar neighbourhood is not enough to establish a worldwide winner.
Google replacements are unofficial and should be installed so they can be removed cleanly. Follow our reversible Google scenery installation procedure rather than mixing multiple map tools or leaving old components active.
Should you choose Bing or Google for MSFS 2020?
Choose Bing for normal use and Google only when a local side-by-side test shows a worthwhile improvement.
- Choose Bing Maps for worldwide flying, Xbox, photogrammetry cities, easier troubleshooting and scenery that needs no external tool.
- Choose Google Maps imagery for PC-based low-level VFR in a particular region where its photography is demonstrably clearer or newer.
- Choose neither provider as the only fix when the real problem is an inaccurate airport, missing landmark or poor building model; a purpose-built scenery add-on is usually more effective.
For most MSFS 2020 pilots, the strongest setup is the default Bing world with photogrammetry and relevant World Updates enabled. A Google replacement makes sense as a selective correction, not as an automatic global upgrade.